Alabama Football: What Jalen, Tua and Mac have in common

What do these Alabama football legends have in common?

After a long stretch of disappointing quarterback play, Alabama football has seen a quarterback renaissance in recent years. It started with Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa followed in his footsteps. The surprising stud was Mac Jones in an unprecedented 2020 season.

These three players will always be tied together since they were once in the same quarterback room. All are loved by Alabama football fans, but they have a few more things in common than that.

All three led their teams to national championship games in their first seasons as starters. They all were finalists for the Heisman Trophy, but none of them won it. Tua and Jalen were both runners-up, and Mac Jones ended in third place. No matter what, all three of these players will be remembered as studs.

There is one storyline that connects these three players and shows how great they were in Tuscaloosa. All three legends ended their final games in Bryant-Denny Stadium with a touchdown pass.

After being benched in his final season with the Crimson Tide, Jalen played in reserved minutes. His final snap in Bryant-Denny Stadium was a passing touchdown to Jaylen Waddle. It was one of the loudest environments I’ve ever experienced in Tuscaloosa. Fans knew that they would never see Jalen again in an Alabama football jersey, and they acted accordingly.

The next season, Tua’s final snap in Bryant-Denny Stadium was not expected. It was a touchdown bomb to DeVonta Smith against LSU. Alabama lost that games, but fans still thought that they would see Tagovailoa again in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, he had a hip injury on the road against Mississippi State, and his Alabama football career was over.

Mac Jones’s final play in the stadium came against the Auburn Tigers as well. He threw a touchdown pass to John Metchie before the Tide sent in Bryce Young to finish the game.

Hopefully, these Alabama legends will have more in common soon. Both Jalen and Tua started games in the NFL last year. Depending on where Mac Jones is drafted, we might see three Alabama quarterbacks starting on Sundays in 2021.